STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1728

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.C.R. No. 93

       S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committees on Health and Public Safety, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 93 entitled:

"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING A SPECIAL MENTAL HEALTH TASK FORCE TO STUDY WHETHER HAWAII SHOULD PROVIDE A CONTINUUM OF MENTAL HEALTH CARE FOR INCARCERATED PERSONS,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to address mental health needs of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated persons.

     Specifically, this measure requests the Department of Health to convene a special mental health task to conduct a study to assess whether Hawaii should provide some form of post-involuntary outpatient mental health care, and assess the quality and effectiveness of mental health services provided to incarcerated persons, and to report back to the Legislature before the 2008 Regular Session.

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the Community Alliance on Prisons, Hawaii Disability Rights Center, NAMI O‘ahu, and eighteen individuals.  Testimony in opposition to this measure was submitted by the Senior Policy Advisor to the Governor and the Department of Health.

     Your Committees find that a large portion of individuals incarcerated or formerly incarcerated in Hawaii are in need of mental health services.  Your Committees further find that individuals with mental health needs who are properly treated are far less likely to return to the penal system.  Therefore, your Committees find it proper to study the quality of mental health services provided to individuals incarcerated in state facilities and the feasibility of providing post-release care.

     This measure was amended to:

     (1)  Replace the Director of Health with the Governor or the Governor's designee as the convener and chair of the task force;

     (2)  Remove the Chief of the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division of the Department of Mental Health from the task force;

     (3)  Include the Attorney General or designee in the task force; and

     (4)  Update the current number of adults being served by the Adult Mental Health Division and delete references to any discrepancy of services to reflect the fact that there are other mental health providers involved.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Health and Public Safety that are attached to this report, your Committees concur with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 93, as amended herein, and recommend its adoption in the form attached hereto as S.C.R. No. 93, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Health and Public Safety,

____________________________ WILL ESPERO, Chair

____________________________ DAVID Y. IGE, Chair